Alexander sat beside me on the plane next to the window, we were waiting to depart but there was some sort of hold up.

I fiddle with my headphones and look up to see Alexander reading my mother's book. I then see a figure pushing a suitcase into the cubicle above us and once there face is revealed, shock plasters its way onto my face.

Leo?

"What the fuck is he doing here?" I nudge onto Alexanders shoulder; he glances down at me before looking up at Leo as he settles down next me.

"He's helping us." Alexander goes back to his book.

"Be grateful." Leo snarls, as he adjusts his seatbelt.

"I thought Jane was coming."

"She isn't, I just said she was so you would come." He mumbles, leaning his head back against the window. I glare at Leo as he rolls his eyes and slides out the newspaper.

"Grandad." I slur under my teeth.

"Bitch." He shoots out.

"Asshole."

"C-"

"Enough, the both of you, stop acting like children."

Alexander had to swap seat because of our bickering and now I was next to the window, the clouds move constantly, forming sheets hundreds of feet apart while appearing to be one layer underneath.

A hazy pink strip joins the blues where the ocean meets the sky, as though mother nature needed to add a petal-hue blush.

Sometimes a dense cloud floats above the sea, resembling the sky-bound palace of the Empress of the Never-ending Story. With spring-melt streams, the white is almost always uniform.

I glance up at the time, we will be arriving in Russia in approximately- 8 hours! We have only been on the plane for an hour and forty-eight minutes.

I glance over at Alexander who is reading the book, I rest my head onto the window and try my hardest to fall asleep. The child crying in the back, the mother trying her hardest to keep him silent.

I flick my eyes open and tense my jaw, "would you like any drinks?" The flight attendant asks.

"A vodka tonic please." I say without thinking, the lady nods her head as she gets out a glass.

I watch her staring at Alexander from the corner of my eyes, and some sort of jealousy flows through my blood. It should not mean anything to me. Well. It should. Mostly because this man used to be mine.

Until I found out his father is trying to kill me just like he killed my mother.

The flight attendant hands me my drink, I take it from her and down it within a second. "Sir, would you like anything to drink?" She asks Alexander.

"No than-"

"Yes, he would like a glass of wine, red, fill it to the top please." I was drinking to calm down my nerves, Alexander looks at me in confusion.

"You just had a shot-"

"It's for you." The flight attendant places the glass on his table, and I take small, hurried sips of it as she departs.

This is something I can handle. I am capable of killing someone. It's not me who's doing the killing.

Alexander takes the wine from my hands and places it on Leo's table; I want to reclaim it, but his hands stop me. "I need it."

"No, you don't."

"I do, I can't do this...I'm scared." I blurt out the truth, Alexander closes his book and looks me in the eyes.

"And why are you scared?" He asks.

My lips quiver, he gently pushes a strand of my hair behind my ears before lifting my jaw for me to maintain eye contact with him. "Because I don't want to die, I don't want to-I don't want to hurt anyone anymore..." It may sound stupid, but it is the truth. Alexander brushes his thumb underneath my eye to wipe the unknown fallen tear.

"There's a saying in my language, 'Se prostatévo chorís kóstos pará móno agápi'" He's silent for a moment, "I protect you for no cost but love." He translates.

"Alexander-"

"Nova, you may push me away, you may make the conditions and the rules, but it doesn't stop the fact that I will always love you. As much as I tried to resist the feeling of love, I can't when it comes to you."

I glance accidentally down to his lips, closing my eyes as our forehead touch one another.

"Alexander, we need to stick to the deal we made otherwise..."

"I know, I know Nova."

◾◾◾

I moved our baggage into the back of the taxi, Leo in the front, and Nova took a brief look around the city. She stares at it with loving eyes; if only she looked at me with those eyes.

"We need to get going, Nova." Nova turns her head and nods as she steps inside the cab, and the car begins to move. Nova glares out the window, her palm under her chin.

"So, we need to go shopping, Leo will go back to the hotel with the bags."

"Shopping, fun." She whispers drastically, Leo continues to type into his phone.

we reached the hotel to drop Leo and the bags off, we were on route to the shopping centre. I have made sure to book out one of the stores where we could get a good expensive dress for Nova. It really did not take much to book it, you just use the surname Solonik, and you can get anything you want.

Except for Nova.

However, I had to be cautious about where I used it. My father is an extremely intelligent man who knows everything.

We come to a halt before the store, and Nova steps out, looking up at the large lettering in bold. I give the taxi driver his money before entering the store, always keeping Nova in front of me.

The worker, Ana, smiles at the both of us before locking the door behind us. "Mr Solonik, welcome to NALA, we are very happy to be serving you." I shake her hand and watch as another two workers come from the back holding a variety of drinks.

Nova looks back, as if asking it it's okay for her to take one and I nod. She probably thought it was spiked but I did my background checks. She takes a glass of wine and drinks the whole thing within seconds, "thank you Joshua!" She smiles before walking on towards the hung dresses.

"So, Mr Solonik, are we looking for a dress for your sister?" She asks.

"She is not my sister." I whisper as I settle down onto the couch

"And do you have a price limit?"

"No."

I find Nova removing a dress from the rack, the workers around her held different types of dresses but I could tell she has already fallen in love with this one.

I knew it would suit her just right, I watch her enter the changing rooms. I distract myself by reading my father's annotations. He has only written threats to Nova's mother but nothing about Nova. It made no sense. I flick through a couple of pages and see an odd signature; I then hear the curtains being draw and I close the book as my eyes link with Nova.

It's created from corded lace and backed in our special power mesh to mid-thigh for modest coverage and a cinched in fit. The frilly ruffles along the v-neckline are ultra-flattering, held by adjustable satin straps to ensure a comfortable fit.

Her body looked absolutely beautiful, she steps out with a soft smile and turns to face the mirror. All the air left my lungs for a moment, she looked beautiful.

It was the moment I fell in love with her that anchored my spirit, forming a tie to this level of reality. The simple part was falling in love with her; the difficult part was admitting to myself that it had happened.

I'd had these really effective defences for so long that she hadn't even noticed them. What a jerk. They were probably intended for others, and she had her own door.

I suppose I could ask why, but what's the point? I'm delighted she's here, even if I'm sometimes hiding, imagining a distance rather than seeing her right there.

I notice the zip is unfastened, and the worker is ready to assist her when I raise my hand and rise up. I approach her until I am directly behind her. As I softly shift her hair to the side, my hands run down her empty back before gripping the zipper and gently tugging it up.

She looks at me through the mirror.

Nova sighs.

I'd never wanted anything to do with everlasting before now; I never saw the point.

So, stay and fall in love with me, and be bold enough to take my hand in yours.

Because I know for sure; I would not let go.